Background: I'm currently a student at the Jerusalem College of Technology in Israel, majoring in Computer Science. In school we've been learning C++ and C#, with some LISP, Prolog and MIPS assembler thrown in. I've been using linux off and on from 2007, and switched my main computer to it in 2010, and to Debian shortly after the release of Squeeze. I've been looking for a way to contribute back to Debian and to the Open Source world.

Project title: Multi-core Optimization

Project details: Very nearly all computing devices today are built using processors with more than one core. By changing the code of programs so that they more often utilize more cores decreases the time we spend waiting on processes to finish and increases our time spent actually using the computers. Certain packages are installed and used regularly and would benefit from the increased processing power that comes from using more than 1 core.

Synopsis: Write, test and submit patches that increase parallel processing in the packages in Debian.

Benefits to Debian: A general speed-up of programs that are commonly used, making the platform feel snappier.

Deliverables: Patched software that makes better use of the computer's hardware to speed up processing.

Project schedule: From now until the start I'll be looking more seriously at OpenMP for C/C++ programs and finding online tutorials for creating and managing threads in Python and other languages. I'll also be looking at the popcon results to try to select programs, looking at high use numbers, and high install to use ratios to try to select programs that would benefit from this project. Once the actual time starts I'll be downloading source and patching and testing. Testing should go faster with proposed patches being passed to maintainers or upstream and allow me to tackle more packages.

Exams and other commitments: The start of GSoC overlaps with the tail end of my semester but I have a light load so it shouldn't be a problem.

Other summer plans: I'm going to Wales for a week in August for my sister's wedding.

Why Debian?: I use Debian and I'm looking for a way to contribute. I'm sure I'm not the only one with older and/or slower computers, and having them run quickly keeps them useful.